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reading_under_covers's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. Over the top plot, awful awful characters, and a letdown of an ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Infidelity and Murder
zsometimesreads's review against another edition
this book was very disappointing. it has a great cover which is such a shame because the rest of the book sucked. i hated all of the characters, especially kay, (i know that she’s not supposed to be liked but still) she was so annoying and kinda had no personality. the characters names were so weird too, like greg??? who names their character greg??? out of all the names in the world, why greg????? unless this is a danny reference only then would that be acceptable but i highly doubt that. this book was so childish but the topic and language were quite heavy and not for a younger audience so i have no idea who the audience of this book is. i got so bored that i just skipped to the end to find out the plot. i’m glad i did because the plot was so dumb????
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Minor: Suicide
nomatophobia's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
why was Brie even in this book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Suicide, Death, and Murder
therewillbenewsuns's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Murder, Child death, Animal death, and Suicide
lesseraliterary's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
a mid-tier ya thriller… the “twist” if you could call it that wasn’t really that shocking and i found it hard to invest in the characters. i did like the bisexual representation and the love triangle with both a boy and a girl without the typical plot line and drama of the inner turmoil and conflict of having to pick a side of the sexual orientation spectrum and then ya know… biphobia
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Bullying, Animal death, and Suicide
magicwithren's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Death, and Murder
nickoliver's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
On the one hand, it was a bit predictable - I was able to figure out the exact nature of the plot twist way before the end -, and the characters and the way they acted was incredibly confusing to me sometimes. They often revealed things so nonchalantly as if they were no big deal and did things that seemed to go against what I'd been believed was their nature up until that point. It kind of felt like I was being gaslight by a book sometimes.
I also wasn't the biggest fan of the writing? It wasn't bad for the most part, but every once in a while, Mele would describe things in a way that made no sense. Here's an example:
I also wasn't the biggest fan of the writing? It wasn't bad for the most part, but every once in a while, Mele would describe things in a way that made no sense. Here's an example:
But with every passing second, I feel a rising anxiety in the pit of my stomach, like I did the first time we kissed. It doesn't feel the same as those quick, crucial moments when Brie and I swirled together in Spencer's room, or the thousand times he and I flung ourselves at each other."
Who describes a make-out like that? "Swirled together"? "Flung ourselves at each other"? Moments like that just took me out of the story, because I just kept being taken aback by them. It just seemed like Mele tried to find ways to describe things without repeating herself, but without making sure the words actually meant what she thought they meant.
On the other hand, I had kind of fun reading this? It was a bit disappointing that the scavenger hunt mentioned in the synopsis didn't take up as much of the plot as I expected, because I was always very curious to see what new scandals it would reveal. I also kind of liked that some of the girls were queer. There was a bit too much cattiness and mean girls energy in this and friends being nasty to each other (which, to someone who hasn't had any meaningful friendship since childhood, has always confused me tremendously), but it didn't bother me quite as much as it usually would. (Possibly because Kay didn't talk about it all too much and always seemed to trivialise her mean streak.)
So overall, while this wasn't a masterpiece and also very easy to figure out, I read it very quickly (admittedly, it did also have a very big font, which helped) and had fun for the most part.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Death, Suicide, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Alcohol, Sexual violence, and Animal death
Minor: Animal cruelty, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, Vomit, and Car accident
about the sexual violence:quinn24's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death
Moderate: Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Car accident, Fatphobia, Drug abuse, and Eating disorder
Minor: Homophobia and Alcohol
thesecretsapphic's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing, Bullying, Murder, and Homophobia
praiz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This book was really not what I expected. It was dark filled with lots of secrets. The characters were not pleasant at all, the main wasn't likeable, carrying herself like she was better than others. When it seems like she was finally going to redeem her sins, uncover all her secrets, she still has even darker ones.
The plot was unpredictable, but I felt like I knew who the killer was as the book was coming to an end. All in all it was quite a good book.
The plot was unpredictable, but I felt like I knew who the killer was as the book was coming to an end. All in all it was quite a good book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Hate crime